Of Memories Relived
by Blousey
Summary: Red Beauty. Set with Belle in the hospital and devoid of memories of who she is and a Ruby willing to help out. Fluffy.


Belle stirred slightly in her slumber as she felt something brushing her hand. It was only touching the top of her right hand where it rested on the hospital bed, and it was almost as if someone's thumb was stroking her. Coming to her senses a bit more, her eyes shot open as she jerked awake. She expected to see that older man again, and her throat clenched in preparation to scream. But as her eyes focused, she realized the person touching her hadn't been that man. In fact, it wasn't a man at all. It was a woman, and she was looking at Belle like a startled little puppy.

Settling back against the pillows, Belle squinted at the woman at her bedside. Something fluttered inside, as if she knew this person, but Belle couldn't manage to identify her. Her long, dark brown hair, her light eyes twinkling in barely contained joy...Who was this woman?

"The, um," the girl started, trying to pull her voice down from its high, excited pitch and back into its normal register. "The doctor said you don't remember very much. Of anything."

Belle nodded. Her eyes shifted to look at something other than the stranger, anything to distract her from the incessant feeling that she was supposed to recognize this woman. Out of all the people she had seen come and go, this woman in particular stood out; she sparked something in Belle. The brunette somehow made the most sense to Belle, but that couldn't possibly be right. Logically, if she was to remember anyone, it would be the man from before. He was insistent that there was an established connection between them, but she couldn't recall what it was. She had no reason to affirm this woman's presence in her life, certainly not more than she would do for that man.

"I surmise we've met?" Belle asked.

The girl gave a nod in response. "But it's okay if you can't remember me," she assured. She gave Belle a smile that struck her as different from the rest. Hers wasn't sad or disappointed or full of pity. It was one of pure relief. Like the girl was just _so_ glad that Belle was alive.

"I don't know who you are, I'm sorry." Belle frowned in spite of herself. Whoever this woman was, she was important somehow, in a way Belle had no ability to pinpoint. She wished even a little memory of the girl would resurface to put them both at ease.

The woman smiled softly. "It's okay." Her voice made Belle believe her, made her accept that the brunette by her bed actually understood this dilemma and had made her peace with the loss. She stretched out a hand towards Belle. "My name's Ruby."

Belle returned the gesture, shaking her hand for a moment. It struck her as dismal, that this girl was having to reintroduce herself to Belle, to someone that probably has memories, events, phrases, conversation attached to her in the woman's head, yet nothing links itself to the other woman in Belle's head. "It's nice to meet you, Ruby. Given the circumstances."

Ruby laughed lightly, which encouraged Belle to smile for the first time since she had arrived in the hospital. "Do you have a name?"

Belle's eyes dropped to her lap, another pang of remorse for a question she cannot possibly be at fault for causing. She hadn't requested her mind be wiped. "I would assume so, but it's not coming to me."

"Well, you had one before you lost your memory. I could tell you what it was, if you'd like?" Ruby's gaze was hopeful and kind. It made Belle want to curl up next to her with a mug of hot cocoa and pretend she wasn't an enigma to even herself.

"I'd like that."

"Everybody here—everyone who had met you, I mean—called you Belle."

"Belle," she spoke, letting it roll off of her tongue. She closed her eyes and leaned against a pillow, whispering to herself. "Belle."

Belle opened her eyes again to see Ruby grinning at her. She tilted her head, fighting her own tiny smile. "What?" she inquired.

"Nothing," Ruby returned. "I'm just glad you're alright. And sounding a little more like yourself. Or, the Belle that I know. Knew. Which might not even be you at all..." Confusing herself, Ruby shook her head to clear it. "But that doesn't matter to me. I'm just really really relieved that you're okay."

"I know." Belle exhaled tiredly. "It's miserable not having any recollection of people you're supposed to have had personal relationships with," she confided.

"It'll come back, Belle. And hey, even if it doesn't, we're all willing to help you make new memories if you want." Ruby's eyes conveyed a sincerity that Belle longed to rediscover in people.

With a grateful smile, Belle reached over and clasped Ruby's hand in hers. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Ruby's thumb took to running over the back of Belle's hand while they sat in silence. Belle eyes drifted close, absorbing the moment of serenity she was afforded.

Faint glimmers of images formed behind her eyelids, short bursts of a man she kept struggling to give up on and a few glimpses of a woman who was always there to comfort her. Belle sighed, not trusting herself enough to take any of what she saw for truth. She was exhausted; her mind could easily be playing tricks on her, and besides, those two were the only ones she had encountered aside from hospital staff since she had woken up. It was only natural that they come to mind. "Ruby?" Her eyes reopened and she looked to the woman at her bedside for guidance. "Can you tell me more about myself?"

Ruby nodded. She couldn't deny Belle anything before the incident, and now a memory-less Belle was basically impossible to say no to, at least for Ruby. "You love books. There's a library on Main Street, pretty much in the middle of town, that had been closed down for as long as anyone here could remember. Then, the next thing I knew, that _any_ of us knew, you were working to completely revamp it and reopen it to the public once you could get its inventory organized again." Ruby paused, hesitantly uttering, "Anything?"

Belle shook her head slowly, offering Ruby an apologetic look. She enjoyed watching Ruby speak; it was clear they had had a good relationship, whatever it was. Ruby's expression was as bright as could be when she spoke about Belle.

Ruby nodded, placing her free hand on Belle's thigh. "It's perfectly fine, Belle. Don't let it get to you, okay?"

With a glance down at the hand on her thigh, Belle whispered an "okay" back to Ruby. She was still lost in a haze, but Ruby was pulling her out of the fog, and each little touch only cemented that.

Ruby laughed quietly, as if Belle wasn't meant to hear it. "There was this one time, I came to the library to take you to Granny's—the diner here in town—for lunch because so often you would get caught up in your work and forget to eat, and I found you near a stack of books, and you were clutching this one particular book. I didn't see what the deal with it was until you realized I was there, and you started ranting about the injustice done to books or something." Again, the brunette let out a laugh at the assumed dramatics of the situation. "I tried to calm you down because you weren't making any sense at all. Once you were a bit calmer, you just held up the book to me, waiting for me to figure out whatever it was that you found, I guess. I still couldn't find any issues with it, and I swear you were going to scream at me." Ruby stumbled, catching herself before she related to Belle that she had been terrified that her sensitive wolf ears would be damaged by the noise. This Belle was a stranger to magic. She couldn't expose too much to her too soon.

"What was the problem?" Belle was sitting up now, obviously enthralled by Ruby's tale.

Delighted that Belle was interested in the story, Ruby continued. "A page was ripped." Belle blinked at Ruby. "I mean, one singular page had a tear in it. I had absolutely no idea what to think. You were just going on and on the whole time. So I just took the book and put it down and forced you to leave the library for a while. Honestly, you probably were capable of murdering me at that point or something, you were _so_ angry that someone would damage a book like that."

Belle chuckled, regardless of being the subject of the crazy antics. "I sound mental."

"Only a little bit," Ruby teased with a wink.

A blush spread across Belle's cheeks. "May I ask exactly what the nature of our relationship was? Or _is_, I suppose."

Ruby gulped, forcing out a smile. "Friends. Just...good friends." She couldn't reveal that she was the first person to truly listen to Belle and what she cared about since she was let out of the depths of the hospital by Jefferson, the Mad Hatter. That would make _Ruby_ sound mental. There was no way to casually slip in the fact that since her first Wolfstime after the curse on Storybrooke was lifted, Belle had been more than a friend to her. But Belle had been with Rumplestiltskin and Belle had put all her attention into him, and the timing was never right.

Belle didn't challenge Ruby's words, but she could tell there was something else there. She just couldn't say for sure what precisely it was that hid in Ruby's fake smile and clear resignation.

"Well, since we're friends," Belle drew out, "I can tell you that the doctors have cleared me to leave tonight."

"Given the circumstances," Ruby began with a smirk, alluding to Belle's earlier words, "I'm thinking that you don't exactly have anywhere to go."

"That would be correct." Belle donned a guilty expression composed of innocence, helplessness due to her plight, and a desire to remain in close proximity to the one person who hadn't terrified her.

"Granny runs an inn if you'd like to room there until you're settled. I already live there, so I'll only be a room away if you need anything. I mean, it might help to have a somewhat familiar face around, too."

"I would really appreciate that, Ruby." Belle smiled in a silent thank you, for everything Ruby was and everything she had done for Belle.

Ruby couldn't help the smile that took over her face. "Consider it done."

Called to Ruby's mind was the first time she had offered Belle a place to stay, Belle's very own room at Granny's Inn. Ruby's brain happily ignored the part where Belle never actually used the room, as she generally chose to sleep in Ruby's bed instead. Something about it being more optimal for sleeping conditions. No matter the excuse, Ruby didn't complain. If she had thought there were one-sided feelings back then, she could assume that's definitely what it was now. This Belle had no idea that had ever happened, that the two of them had shared anything like that.

Ruby chewed her lip thoughtfully before rising from her chair. She stretched to buy herself more time, but at last she patted Belle's knee. "I have to go. Can't let you go home to a dirty room, now can I?" Ruby laughed to let Belle know she was joking around. "I'll see you later tonight to pick you up."

She waved her farewell to Belle, grinning at the smile and the wave Belle gave back to her. Maybe this was Ruby's chance to show Belle every part of her, including the part of Ruby that was in love with Belle. This time maybe she could do it without previous romantic affairs rearing their ugly head. As Ruby tossed one last glance goodbye over her shoulder, all she could hope was that old habits die hard and that the right side of her bed wouldn't be empty tonight.


End file.
